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A grainy black and white video showing Kelly Thomas, a shirtless, homeless man, being hit again and again with fists, a baton and finally the butt of a stun gun by Fullerton, California police chilled spectators in an Orange County courtroom on Monday (May 7).
The closed circuit video of Thomas' violent encounter with police outside a bus depot is the centerpiece of the prosecutions' case against two officers accused of escalating a standard police encounter with a homeless man into a fatal beating.
At one point, Thomas - a 37-year-old mentally ill homeless man who was a familiar face in the city's downtown yells for help.
Thomas died five days after the beating on July 5, 2011.
Monday's screening of the video was part of a preliminary hearing in which a judge is set to decide if there is sufficient evidence for two policemen to stand trial for the incident.
Officer Manuel Ramos, 38, a 10-year veteran on the Fullerton force, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with Thomas' death, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years to life in prison if found guilty.
Corporal Jay Cicinelli, 40, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
